September 27, 2007
Review by Lee New
I just got back from seeing Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan in concert at the
John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA so this review might sound
bizarre and incoherent, but I know some of you like that! [image:
tongue.gif]
The warm-up band was Amos Lee and they played a 30 minute set with about
6-8 songs including a nice rocker 'Raised By Wolves' and ended with Sam
Cooke's 'A Change Is Gonna Come'. I was not familiar with this band, but
the lead singer is very charismatic and belts out the songs in a style
similar to Ben Harper, very sensitive and diverse.
Elvis Costello took the stage rather suddenly with four different acoustic
guitars and immediately launched into "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red
Shoes". I wasn't quite dancing though his set, but he did bring back fond
memories and who knew he was so funny? His other hits were "Veronica",
'Allison" and "What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding?"
I didn't really recognize the other songs in his 45 minute set, but he
played this one song where he engaged in a call and response type
sing-a-long and whenever he went 'Wake up!' the audience would respond
with the same. At one point he suddenly started playing part of a song by
John Lennon and when he lurched away from the microphone, I jumped up and
sang out as loud as I could "I don't want to be a soldier mama, I don't
want to die!', but apparently I was the only one among the 20,000
attendees who knew that lyric well enough to scream it out and he nodded
slightly, laughed and went on with the song. I felt 'Special'.
When Dylan went on stage they had this long protracted introduction that
was something like "Bob Dylan, Progenitor of Rock of Roll! Inventor of
Substance Abuse! Rock Icon of the 70's! Washed up in the 80's! Rose
Phoenix-like in the '90s! Still the Greatest Show on Earth" or some sh*t.
Then he launched into "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat", which I was too stupid
to recognize. Next up "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" was excellent and
I knew that one immediately, as well as the follow-up "Watching the River
Flow". At this point in the show I realized that I would need a UN
translator to understand the lyrics of any songs that I was unfamiliar
with, due to his complete inability to enunciate; however, that did not
detract too much from my enjoyment as the band was very tight, dressed in
their matching suits and hats.
All the songs from the new album 'Modern Times' were really well performed
and I lied them as much as the classics, probably because he purposely
screws up the lyrics and mumbles during the older tunes. he highlights for
me were 'Tangled Up In Blue", "Highway 61 Revisited" and "All Along The
Watchtower". I thought 'Hard Rain' sounded kind of obligatory,
anachronistic and irrelevant, but what do I know?
Lee New
The Lapis Connection
www.lapisconnection.com
Review by Kevin
First, I think the difference between my experience at this concert
(fantastic), and that of Lee New underscores the dichotomy inherent in the
Dylan live experience. On the one hand, you have the younger crowd that
are looking for hearing the hits, and then, hopefully some sort of
re-creation of the recorded work so they feel comfortable with their
experience. Me, somewhat older, and more experienced as a Dylan concert
goer, I am looking for having something of a unique experience compared
to other concerts by Dylan I have attended.
In any event, I thought Dylan was in top form Thursday, and this after
having seen a less enthusiastic and less careful show in Clemson just 4
days before. The sound on the floor was terrific, and even Elvis Costello
had trimmed some of the fat from his middle set (no forced encores this
time for Elvis). Although I was a little concerned that Bob and the band
duplicated the first 3 "ho hum" openers from Clemson when he played UVA,
my concerns were quickly eliminated by the 4th song, a brilliant Blind
Willie McTell. By then the crowd had settled in a bit, the sound had been
tweaked, and Bob and the band were free to carve out a quieter, yet much
more carefully executed direction for the rest of the night. Bob gave his
first of several wonderful harp solos, so even those in the audience that
did not know the song were kept engaged in the performance.
Next, we got Levee's Gonna Break, a song that had the crowd back into the
concert by the sheer attraction of the infectious groove, with Bob
obliging with a nuanced vocal delivery that continually propelled the
song forward as the band increased the intensity of their own
performance. Workingman's Blues again showed how much Bob cared for the
delivery of the new material, with every
line (including some new lyrics?) thoughtfully delivered throughout the
song. No one could recognize the opening chords by Donnie and Denny on
Tangled Up in Blue, and I honestly thought several people in my section
did not recognize the song until the chorus. Next, Bob treated us with a
beautiful reading of Hard Rain...even this crowd could appreciate Bob's
efforts enough at this point to remain quiet as Bob built his case up to
the final verse exclaiming "and I'll know my song well, before I start
singing." So, at this point, I am quite the happy camper.
The next three songs remained quite good performances (Spirit on the
Water was well played and well received), but the real treat before the
end of the set was "Ain't Talking." By this time the crowd had realized
that Bob was there to deliver the goods if they would only sit quiet and
listened, and listened they did. This was a real treat. Thin Man was the
last song, a song which, having seen prior set lists, I wondered how it
would settle as the ending number. Bob pulled out a great harp solo
toward the end (his third or fourth of the night, each of which were
among the best I have heard), and I heard why this worked at the end.
In the end, I saw a concert in which I witnessed Bob and the band working
as hard as I have ever seen before, with great enthusiasm for the material
and great concern for how their playing was received by the audience. If
you want to hear the records, go see someone else. Bob is there to play
the songs, and those songs have a life of their own..regardless of how
they sounded in the past.
Kevin
Review by Thad Williamson
My feeling was that this could have been a great show in a smaller
venue. The setlist was excellent, from my point of view-a lot of
interesting older songs ("Watching the River Flow", "Blind Willie"), and a
large chunk of "Modern Times." The strongest performances on the night
were, I thought, "Spirit on the Water" and "Ain't Talkin," but all the
songs off Modern Times worked well. I enjoyed the rewritten lyrics in
"Workingman Blues" (.."I couldn't believe they would kick me when I was
down," or something like that.) There was also an amusing new lyric in
"Tangled Up in Blue," ("She was working in the Tropicana went I stopped in
for a show, I was getting ready to leave for Atlanta and she said I don't
think so"...or something like that .)
The problem with the show was there wasn't much atmosphere in the arena.
Only at the very end did the crowd really get into things. Dylan's voice I
think is on a downward spiral compared to even a few yeas ago, and there
certainly were a lot of garbled lines. The first line of "Hard Rain" was
impossible to understand, and it wasn't the only one. The songs he picked
would have been great for an intimate audience but in an arena that size,
where's there's no dancing up front, you've just got to play the rocking
numbers to get the crowd into it. Personally that would have made the show
less interesting for me, but I think the audience would have enjoyed it
more. A lot of folks left early.
I'd be interested to hear the take on this concert of people who were in
the first few rows.
At the end of the day it was still a Dylan concert with some really good
moments, especially "Ain't Talkin." I also thought, given the name of the
arena, it was good to give "Thin Man" a nice run out.
Review by Tom Angelman
third dylan show for us...first at wvu 01...second at altoona pa ball park
04...both from a distance...this time up close eight rows from the stage
almost exactly in the middle...down out of rural west virginia into
charming virginia and a perfect evening of the very best live rock and
roll humanly possible...first amos lee young whipper snapper up and coming
wordsmith then elvis costello master entertainer then the bob and his
extraordinary band...our little crew was simply awed by it all...bob dylan
the cornerstone of so much contemporary popular music from electric folk
rock to rap (subterranean homesick blues) to the inspiring music he and
only he is playing today...watching that six man band create music
thursday night was to see and hear a master leading masters through a
masterpiece set...at the end when the sound stopped and they took their
bows they radiated satisfaction for their audience's appreciation with
gratitude and obvious humility...when bob finally stops making his music
we will not see his place filled again...one of a kind in our time for all
time...thank you bob...godspeed
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